


Dearly Beloved

by Anonymous



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Dream Drop Distance, Five Stages of Grief, Grief, Grieving, Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilers, M/M, Not A Happy Ending, Not Beta Read, Symphony of Sorcery, Tragic Romance, friendship struggles, has plot points of most games, my take on the secret ending, post kh3, vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 13:34:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19358050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Stars were falling from the sky. Two boys were watching the meteor shower, the younger of them sounding a little scared.“Don’t worry! I’ll protect you, Sora!” The older promised. He promised his best friend to always look over him because he was someone that mattered.—Riku deals with his feelings throughout the years, but ends up losing his loved one.





	Dearly Beloved

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this fanfic is not beta read

Stars were falling from the sky. Two boys were watching the meteor shower, the younger of them sounding a little scared. 

 

“Don’t worry! I’ll protect you, Sora!” The older promised. He promised his best friend to always look over him because he was someone that mattered. 

 

Their relationship however changed when the girl arrived on the island. Sora was immediately smitten with her and that led to something ugly growing in Riku’s heart. 

 

He realized that he was jealous of their relationship. Kairi didn’t care for him in the same way she did for Sora. His friend was too oblivious to notice of course. He always wanted to include Riku in everything, but as they grew up, it seemed that Kairi wanted to be with Sora only. 

 

She even proposed to Sora to leave the island together. Just the two of them. Riku didn’t mean to overhear that conversation, but he did it anyway. He felt the jealousy growing in his heart and he listened to the voice of an old man instead of his heart. 

 

* * *

And so Sora’s whole journey started. Because of his growing feelings of jealousy, Riku opened the door, plunging their little world into darkness, got manipulated and almost lost his body. He even had to fight Sora, felt the pain in his heart when they battled, felt lost when Sora set his heart free to wake up Kairi; all of that happened because he opened the forbidden door.

 

That was when he realized that he had to set things right. To protect his friends, Riku sacrificed his safety and closed the door from the realm of darkness, while Sora stayed behind. And while Sora was looking for him, he fell into a deep slumber to restore his memories and it was Riku’s job to look over Sora now. He gave up his appearance and tapped into the power of darkness so that he could help Sora to regain the memories, which he had lost at Castle Oblivion. 

 

He didn’t want to be found after that, but Sora found him anyway. Riku was surprised to see his best friend collapsing onto his knees and started to cry when they reunited at The World That Never Was. 

 

“I looked for you! I looked everywhere for you!” Riku remembered Sora sobbing while he held onto his hand. 

 

Now that he was grown up, Riku didn’t feel jealous anymore. There was a different feeling that warmed his heart. Riku realized with a start that it wasn’t just friendship, it was love. It was the desire to protect him and to keep him safe, even though Sora was capable of doing so just fine. 

 

He still used his body to shield Sora from Xemna’s attack when they had to battle him, and was glad that they ended up at the dark shore together. 

 

“At least the waves sound the same.” Riku commented when Sora dragged him closer to the water. 

 

The fight with Xemnas took all of his strength and as soon as he tried to walk, he fell face first into the sand. If Sora hadn’t picked him up, he would have had to drag his body towards the water. 

 

They sat like this for a while, both lost in thought. After some time, Riku felt the need to speak up.

 

“What I said back there, about being better at stuff than you...” Riku began and looked towards the moon in the sky. He heard Sora humming in question, but he didn’t look at him. 

 

“To fell the truth, I was jealous of you, Sora.”

 

“What for?” Sora asked in surprise. 

 

“I wish I could live life the way you do. Just following my heart.” Riku confessed. 

 

“Yeah, well, I’ve got my share of problems, too.” Sora responded with a small smile on his face. Riku wondered, if Sora was proud to hear that. 

 

“Like what?” The silver-haired boy inquired. 

 

“Like... wanting to be like you.” Sora told him with a gentle smile. 

 

Riku couldn’t believe what he just heard. It made him incredibly happy to know that Sora regraded him so highly and he hummed a little, a smirk forming on his face. 

 

“Well, there is one advantage of being me. Something you could never imitate.” Riku teased and that certainly caught Sora’s attention. 

 

“Really? What’s that?”

 

“Having you for a friend.”

 

Riku didn’t know why he just said that. He thought that Sora would tease him for being sappy, but instead, Sora leaned back and watched the waves again. 

 

“Then I guess... I’m okay the way I am. I’ve got something you could never imitate, too.”

 

And even though Sora never said what it was, Riku knew that Sora meant him. He meant their friendship, their memories and adventures. Or at least, Riku hoped he did. He was careful and never let his true feelings show, too afraid of what Sora would say if he knew. 

 

But right now, he felt calm. And so they basked in the silver moonlight, while listening to the soft sound of the waves. Riku closed his eyes, letting his mind wander to different things. He thought about how brave Sora had been. He thought how good his new clothes looked on him. He wanted nothing more than to stay forever like this, on this beach in the darkness, where it was quiet and peaceful. 

 

The moment was interrupted when Riku felt something hitting his leg. He looked down to see a bottle swimming in the water, a letter carefully sealed inside of it with a stopper. He picked the bottle up and easily pulled out the stopper, then unfolded the letter, reading the words. 

 

His heart began to ache when he realized that it was from Kairi and clearly intended for Sora to read. It was slightly romantic, which made Riku sigh internally. But for the sake of Sora and his feelings, he just passed the letter to him. 

 

And when Sora read the letter, a door to the realm of light appeared, transporting them both home. Riku stayed a little behind when Sora swam and ran towards the beach where Kairi was waving at them. They shared a special bond now after all, and although it hurt, he decided to let him go. That’s what friends do, don’t they? When you love someone so much, you want the best for them, even if that meant to let them go. 

 

* * *

Riku thought that he would have time to sort out his feelings, but of course, heroes never get a break. Yen Sid had invited them to the Mark of Mastery exam, while Kairi was going to train and learn how to wield the keyblade she had gotten from Riku at the World That Never Was.

 

But Sora got into trouble again. In the Sleeping Realms, they got separated from one another. The Organization almost managed to trap Sora in a deep and dark nightmare, but with Riku’s help and the Power of Waking, he was able to return. Riku would never admit it to Sora, but he was actually glad that he could visit so many worlds. And Symphony of Sorcery was his favorite, not just because of the romantic setting (which he would love to revisit with Sora), but also because he finally had a name for the song their united hearts sang. 

 

_Dearly beloved. Sora and Riku._

 

The silver-haired secretly hoped that Sora would understand, but if he did, he made no comment on it. Instead he was having a tea party, but immediately jumped to hug Riku when he woke up from his dream. He still remembered his arms around his neck and the happy smile on his face. 

 

“Rikuuuu! You’re safe!” He shouted, which wasa little awkward for Riku, but he didn’t really mind. 

 

However, it should’ve been Sora to receive the master’s title and not Riku. Surprisingly however, Riku felt no malicious feelings from Sora, maybe slight disappointment, but Sora was happy for him. 

 

It was strange to feel Sora’s emotions in this moment, but Riku assumed it was because of the link their hearts shared. 

 

* * *

 

Unfortunately they had to part ways yet again. Sora went to go on a journey to restore his lost power, while Riku and Mickey went to the Realm of Darkness to search for the lost Keyblade Master. He didn’t know how much time he spent there, but his heart ached when they arrived at a familiar beach. 

 

Just a few months ago, Sora and him sat here on this beach, telling each other how important they were to one another. He wondered if he should write a letter to Sora just like Kairi did, but then shook his head. Why would Sora be at the islands right now? Would it even arrive?

 

Mickey and Riku wandered around some more, until the heartless became a real threat. Riku was swept away by a Demon Tower and almost drowned in the darkness. If it wasn’t for his other self, the darkness that still resided in his heart, he would have died. 

 

During that moment, his thoughts went to Sora again. Would he cry if he found out that Riku died? Would he lose the strength to fight? He didn’t want to see Sora crying. 

 

When he woke up again, he was still in the Realm of Darkness. He was still alive, but his keyblade was broken. However, it felt as if he didn’t need it anymore. He didn’t have to rely on the power of darkness anymore, so he left it behind. 

 

* * *

 

Finding Aqua was a miracle maybe, considering how far Riku and Mickey walked. But she had changed and the darkness took over, which wasn’t really a surprise. She was trapped for ten long years in a dark place, after all. Any normal person wouldn’t even have lasted a year. 

 

Riku knew that he wasn’t strong enough to defeat her. But his heart kept telling him to call for his friend, as if he was going to magically appear from the sky like an angel. 

 

But that’s exactly what he did. Sora was always full of surprises, so it shouldn’t have surprised him to see Sora dropping from the sky after opening a door that was filled with light. He landed on his feet just inches away from Riku, turned to him and smiled. 

 

“I made it!” Sora called and Riku could feel his heart skipping a beat. They summoned their combined keyblade, which they both acquired in the sleeping realms and used it to free Mickey from the demon tide. 

 

When Riku ran to the king, Aqua tried to strike him. Riku prepared for a blow that never came, because Sora somehow managed to get between them and block the attack. 

 

“How, Sora?” He asked in surprise and with a smile, because really, how? Riku had Mickey’s keyblade to guide them to the Realm of Darkness, so how did Sora find them?

 

“I uh had a little help!” He confessed sheepishly and summoned a keyblade that looked very old. 

 

“Go to the king! I’ll handle this!” He told Riku and prepared himself for the fight. 

 

* * *

 

Of course Sora used his light to bring her back. Riku never thought that he would fail. He was insanely proud of Sora, his love growing even stronger. But love led him to make stupid decisions, and his heroic sacrifice was one of those. He knew he wouldn’t last against the darkness, but if it kept Sora safe and if it made Sora stop crying, he’d do it again and again. 

 

He didn’t remember what happened next, only that he sacrificed himself twice. That should’ve be possible, right? But the feeling of déjà vu didn’t leave his mind and rather grew stronger when Sora held Kairi’s hand. 

 

Maybe it was just his jealousy coming back, but Riku decided to ignore it. There were more important things to think about. 

 

 

* * *

 

The fight was finally over. Xehanort was finally defeated and his soul vanished along with that of Master Eraqus. But Riku knew that Sora’s journey was far from over now, because Kairi was gone again. 

 

It must’ve been a trick of the light, but for a moment, it looked like Sora was about to disappear. Riku wanted to protest, wanted to beg him to stay, but he knew he couldn’t. 

 

Maybe he should have though, because Kairi eventually returned, but Sora had not. Riku listened to the tune of their hearts, only to hear it fading until he could only hear his lonely melody. 

 

Sora had left this world. He gave too much of himself away, not he had lost his way home. He ignored Kairi’s shouts to stay here when he let Braveheart transform into a glider and sped away. 

 

In his mind he knew that Sora was probably gone forever, and he was angry about that, but his grieving heart couldn’t accept the truth, leading him to a fruitless journey. 

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve recently lost a friend of mine, not through death or terminal illness, but more because of instability and anxiety. We were both hurt and in pain and I really just want the best for them, so I let them go. 
> 
> I know that people come and go in our lives, but that doesn’t mean it hurts less. Although I miss them, I know that it’s better to stay away right now. There’s too much pain and too many things that happened that would make things worse. 
> 
> This is why I wrote this fanfic. I wanted to deal with the feeling of loss and there is no other way but writing them down for me. 
> 
> This will also be my last work for a while. I quit social media as well and want to take care of my mental health first. And who knows, maybe it’s foolish to hope that, but I hope that someday, we can have a new and better start. 
> 
> I’m moving on, even if it hurts. Though I hope that wherever they are, they’re safe and happy. 
> 
> This is goodbye for now... but goodbyes aren’t forever. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told. 
> 
> And I kind of want to believe that.


End file.
